Amit Yagur, Ex-Senior Israeli Intelligence Officer

“We (Israel) need Bashar Assad to secure a buffer zone and keep them (Syrian opposition forces) away from our borders.”

A bust of Bashar al-Assad thrown in a trash bin in Aleppo’s Martini neighborhood.

📸 Maher Younes

And just like that: The statue of Hafez al-Assad was toppled in the center of Hama.

History note: Government forces, particularly under the command of Hafez’s brother, Rifaat al-Assad, killed an estimated 10,000 to 40,000 people, primarily civilians, through shelling and door-to-door executions from February 2 to 28, 1982.

This was Hama Massacre.

Ambush: Syrian opposition sleeper cells in Homs attack Assad forces gathering at the city’s entrance.

Syrian opposition forces at Rastan, Homs earlier today.

Al-Rastan, located approximately 25 kilometers north of Homs, is the third largest city in the Homs Governorate.

Syrian fighters advance into Homs, seizing Rastan this morning without NO regime resistance.

Syrian opposition military command announces control over Talbiseh in Homs countryside.

Talbiseh is approximately 10 kilometers north of Homs city.

Meanwhile in South Korea: South Korea’s acting defense minister Kim Seong-ho says the military will not follow orders to reimpose martial law amid rumors of its possible reinstatement.

NOW: Syrian opposition fighters are 7 km away from Homs.

Homs: Down to 5 km now.

NOW: Syrian fighters are 3 km away from Homs.

NOW: Syrian opposition forces, including the Command of Military Operations (CMO) and Syrian National Army (SNA) are 1.3 km away from Homs, 6 km away from Homs city centre.

More bad news for Assad: Syrian rebels seize the State Security post in Inkhil, Daraa after regime forces withdraw.

#BREAKING: Syrian opposition military command captures Al-Dar Al-Kabira and advances toward Homs city.

With the capture of Dar al-Kabira, Syrian forces are now positioned at Homs’ outer boundary.

Syrian man tied the head of a toppled Hafez al-Assad statue to his motorcycle and rode around the city in Hama.